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Voices for a safer Polk Street

By San Francisco Bicycle Coalition on April 2, 2013

Who Cares About Polk? Meet Brenton.

Polk Street connects thousands of San Franciscans to work, school, the waterfront and thriving commercial corridors from Market Street to the Bay — on bikes. According to SFMTA bike counts, biking on Polk Street has grown dramatically from 2006 to 2011; annual counts indicate a 79% growth in biking at McAllister and Polk Street and a 66% growth at Polk and Sutter. Increasingly, people are biking and walking on Polk Street to visit the growing number of restaurants, shops, gyms, and bars on this corridor; according to the SFMTA’s Polk Street Intercept Survey, approximately 30% of respondents stated that they visited Polk Street to eat or shop (at the time of the survey).

But numbers only tell part of the story. To put a face on the many people who visit Polk Street by bicycle, we’ll be featuring profiles of members who have written in to support a bright future for Polk Street.

My name is Brenton. I live 2 blocks from Polk St. When I was working in Soma, I’d bike Polk from Jackson to the waterfront every single day, connecting to the Embarcadero. When I go to the gym in the Mission, I ride Polk the other direction, from Jackson to Valencia. I get my food on Polk St, at either Real Food, Cheese Plus, or at one of the many restaurants on our street. I chose my apartment because of its proximity to Polk St – it’s an important part of my San Francisco experience.

I’ve been on the road frequently this winter. I care so deeply about making our neighborhood better that I took the Polk St survey on a slow and overpriced mobile data plan from a train in Germany to make sure my voice would be heard in time. I was very excited to see the human-centric options being considered.

San Francisco deserves a beautiful promenade to show off some of our best shops and restaurants, to bring people out of their apartments and into a community space. As you know, more trips are made by foot or bicycle in San Francisco than in almost any other city in the country. Our pedestrians and cyclists deserve a safe, comfortable, and beautiful experience when they explore our fine city. Our drivers should be encouraged to use the many facilities available to them (such as Franklin/Gough) and to enjoy Polk on foot after they park.

If you also care about the future of Polk Street, like Brenton, please be sure to let us know that you’ll be attending the upcoming MTA meetings about the future of this incredible commercial corridor (Saturday, April 27th and Tuesday, April 30th). Details here.